________________
SAMYAKTVA AND THE PATH OF JAINISM
AS FLOWING THERE FROM
The central concept of Jainism is Samyaktva i.e. equalness, peacefulness, and harmoniousness: a state of perfect balance which can only prevail in the Non-manifest Divine Consciousness. In the Manifest Consciousness which is 'Divine' however, its attainment is only a goal. Using the terminology of the famous Scientist Mr. David Bohm of the University of London, the nonmanifest divine consciousness is like the implicate Order of existence, the implicate flowing wholeness in its dynamic balance which is unattainable in the Explicate Order of existence, the manifest yet divine consciousness. To attain therefore to the state of as much Samyaktva as is possible while in a manifest form is the goal of all Jainas and while embodied it is only 'Arhanta' who according to Jainas achieves this goal. On leaving the body, he the 'Arhanta' attains 'Siddhahood' the final state beyond which no imagination or conception works. Knowing and believing this, an attempt to be this, is the first requisite of a Jaina.
But why Samyaktva? Jainism lays down that all souls in their innate condition are equal in content and quality, also in space and time. It is the level of the layers of 'karma particles that makes the life-forms so very different from each other, resulting in different levels of consciousness which produce attachment, hatred, aversion, anger, greed, selfishness, pride, love, compassion, etc., bringing in their turn more and more of karma particles motion, their binding, prevention, neutralisation responsible eventually for innumerable or a less number of cycles of birth and death. Applying this concept of Samyaktva to daily life, not only physical i.e. the life of the gross body, muscles, tissues, blood etc., but also mental i.e. the life of the mind with its thinking of
